# Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader review



## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

Squadron Leader is an English-style tobacco from Samuel Gawith.










Tin aroma: The smell from the tin is all Latakia. It's beautifully leathery and full, but still not as overpowering as a lot of other latakia blends I could mention.

Taste: While you get a lot of Latakia in the tin, what you get in the pipe is actually kind of delicate. The Latakia is strong but still somehow only plays a supporting role. The Virginias here are the star, but play it in a sublimely understated way that is aided nicely by aging. Retrohaling (yes, I pulled it off, but barely) reveals notes of citrus.

Room note: Nothing special here. It's a classic English aroma, so if you're spending time with non-smokers who aren't filled with memories of grandpa's pipe, they probably won't like it.

Overall impressions: Everything about this blend is balanced so perfectly. Too perfectly, actually. It's all just a little too delicate for me. To employ a metaphor, this is a steak from Wolfgang Puck. It's delicious, but not if what you really want is a slab of beef from a typical Texas steakhouse. Chalk that up to personal choice, though. I can easily see this being a favorite of a lot of cigar-turned-pipe smokers.


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## mmiller (Nov 17, 2011)

Great review Tom! Your review lines up right with my SL smoking experience. I find it is delicious but a little bit mild flavored for when I get into heavy latakia mode.


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## AStateJB (Oct 13, 2011)

It looks interesting, but this cigar smoker says, "bring me the slab o' beef!" Delicate just doesn't seem to grab my attention... Where would you rank the Balkan Supreme on a scale of delicate to not delicate? I really enjoyed it!


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## GoJohnnyGo (Nov 19, 2011)

I've been wanting to try this for a while but haven't been able to find it. Thanks for this review.


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

Balkan Supreme is a pretty beefy tobacco.


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## AStateJB (Oct 13, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> Balkan Supreme is a pretty beefy tobacco.


I was guessing it was. I enjoyed it a lot! So much that it's all gone already! :lol:


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## Iframedrogerrabbit (Jan 12, 2012)

Great review. I just got a bit of sl so I'm pretty excited to try it.


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

Looks like Josh is a Latakia smoker!


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## AStateJB (Oct 13, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> Looks like Josh is a Latakia smoker!


I think that's a safe bet!


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## yorkshirepipe (Jan 13, 2011)

I wouldn't say its delicate, but hey thats just me 

This was the first english i tried, and is still my favourite, have about 5 tins of the stuff so i will make sure i never run out! The leathary taste is great, i think the latakia is very well balanced with the virginias, very glad the latakia isnt overpowering like other english blends can be!


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## keen smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

I really like SL. I'm not a huge fan of Lat bombs so the fabulous balance in this blend really suits me. To my tastes, the orientals a bit more dominant than the Virginia, but the VAs definitely do add some nice sweet notes that I enjoy.

I'd also note that this one really grew on me over time. I liked it at first but not enough to smoke it more than here and there. But I continued dipping into my jar; I'm not sure if the tobacco improved with some air (we're not talking much aging here) or my tastes just lined up right, but now its one of my favorites when I want a tasty oriental blend with some lat (a balkan?!).

Thanks for the review, cheers


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